Croats Warming to Online Shopping

More and more Croats are using the internet to go shopping, with the most popular purchases clothing, shoes, accessories and electronic devices, according to the results of a GfK survey conducted in the country in September…

64% of Croatia’s population over the age of 15 use the Internet. Compare with neighboring countries, Internet penetration in Croatia is very similar to that recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina (63%), Serbia (65%), Macedonia (67%). Slovenia is still far ahead in the number of Internet users in the region (80%). In the last few years the number of Internet users who also use the Internet for on-line shopping has risen markedly.

At the end of 2010 just 6% of Croatia’s population purchased items online. In just two years that number has risen nearly four times, with the latest data indicating that 23% of the population had made at least one purchase on the Internet. 36% of Internet users go online shopping. The most popular items were clothing, shoes, accessories and electronic devices, with 63% of online shoppers purchasing an item of clothing at least once, whilst one in three have purchased an electronic device at least once.

Croatians no longer need to pay customs duty for goods from the EU after they joined the Union on 1 July.